At this moment, everyone in the courtyard could see clearly—a boy about twelve or thirteen years old jumped out and shouted, “Frank Quinn, what are you doing here playing around? Hurry up and kneel before Grandmaster to apologize!”

“Samuel, it’s my fault!”

Although he was scolded by the boy, Frank Quinn wasn’t angry. He had been here for five years, and since he survived by picking up scraps, he was looked down upon by the local children. The one who spoke, Samuel Brooks, was his only friend.

The elderly man sitting in the center of the courtyard was the last disciple of the legendary marksman Li Shuwen, named Jack Brooks. He himself was quite a legendary figure.

Jack Brooks came from a family of scholars. Because he was frail as a child, from the age of five, the family servant David Bolton taught him Mizong Boxing to strengthen his body.

Thanks to his family’s wealth, when he was eight, Jack Brooks’s father invited the Baji Boxing master “Divine Spear” Li Shuwen to their home to teach. Li Shuwen was strict and serious in his teaching, and Jack Brooks was often injured as a result, but this laid a solid foundation for his deep skills in Baji Boxing and Pi Gua Palm.

At age 20, Jack Brooks’s father originally wanted him to study law at Chaoyang University, but Jack Brooks took the tuition money and followed Li Shuwen on his travels.

After Li Shuwen’s death, Jack Brooks returned to his hometown. In 1936, he defeated the Kwantung Army’s kendo instructor Ota Tokushirō in Jinnan, which made him famous in martial circles.

Later, when the Japanese army fully invaded China, Jack Brooks joined the military. Because he fought bravely and was wounded many times, he was promoted quickly in the army. In 1949, he followed the defeated Nationalist troops to Taiwan.

Because of this, his second son, who stayed at home, suffered greatly during the ten years of turmoil.

It wasn’t until the late 1980s, when relations between the two sides eased, that Jack Brooks returned to his hometown and settled here in seclusion, preparing to spend his final years where his roots were.

The one who had just spoken, Samuel Brooks, was the child of Jack Brooks’s third son and his youngest grandson, whom he had brought from Taiwan to the mainland. Over the years, he had always stayed by his side.

Unlike most children, Samuel Brooks didn’t look down on Frank Quinn for living off scavenging. He often played with Frank Quinn and his sister, and was their only friend.

Samuel Brooks also knew about Frank Quinn secretly learning martial arts at home, and had even secretly taught Frank Quinn the training formulas. Otherwise, just by watching the moves, Frank Quinn would never have been able to develop any real skills.

Before Samuel Brooks could speak up to help Frank Quinn out of trouble, the old man in the courtyard, Jack Brooks, suddenly said, “Samuel, a martial artist must have an open and honest heart. Ask this child—did he really come here just to play?”

“This… this…” Samuel Brooks was left speechless by his grandfather. Of course he knew what Frank Quinn was here for—he had even helped dig the hole in the wall.

Seeing his friend in a tough spot, Frank Quinn took two steps forward, straightened his back, and said, “Grandpa Liu, I… I didn’t come here to play, I… I wanted to learn martial arts!”

“Good kid, you actually dared to steal from the master?”

Hearing Frank Quinn’s words, Samuel Brooks’s second uncle, Charles Brooks, couldn’t help but look displeased. Knowing that Frank Quinn was secretly learning martial arts was one thing, but saying it out loud was another—it was a slap in the face for the Liu family.

“Second, stop. Little one, come in!”

Just as Second Brooks reached out to grab Frank Quinn, the old man’s voice rang out in the courtyard, “That’s enough practice for today. You can all go now. Samuel, you stay!”

As soon as the old man spoke, the group of children immediately dispersed. However, a few boys who didn’t get along with Frank Quinn left the courtyard with gloating looks on their faces.

Frank Quinn knew that with Charles Brooks there, he had no hope of escaping. He simply walked straight into the courtyard and said, “Grandpa Liu, I want to learn martial arts, but… but you wouldn’t teach me, so… so I had to learn in secret.”

To be honest, Frank Quinn felt a bit wronged. Although there were many martial arts schools and famous masters in Cangzhou, martial arts was for the rich, and becoming a disciple required a hefty gift for the master.

But Frank Quinn went out scavenging before dawn every day, and what he earned was barely enough to feed himself and his sister. How could he afford to pay a master?

Four years ago, when Jack Brooks returned to his hometown, he openly accepted disciples and taught Baji Boxing for free. Of course, his aim was to popularize Baji Boxing, but he never taught the true essence of the family techniques to these disciples.

When Frank Quinn heard the news, he also came to ask to be a disciple, but was refused by Old Brooks. That’s why there was a hint of grievance in Frank Quinn’s words.

“Quibbling!”

Charles Brooks glared fiercely at Frank Quinn, then turned to his father and said, “Dad, how do you want to handle this? Should we take back the skills he’s learned?”

Although Baji Boxing is fierce and aggressive, it is an authentic internal martial art. After a few years of training, one develops internal energy in the dantian.

Charles Brooks had practiced Baji Boxing all his life, and with one look he could see the gleam in Frank Quinn’s eyes—a sign of having developed internal energy. He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: after just four years of secretly learning, this kid had already developed internal energy. He really was a martial arts prodigy.